The Austrian physicist won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933 for Schrödinger's wave, a mathematical equation of wave mechanics that is still widely used in modern quantum theory.

However, he is perhaps best known for Schrödinger's cat, a thought experiment that stated that a cat could be alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event.

The hypothetical experiment involved placing a cat, a flask of poison and a radioactive source in a sealed box. If a monitor detected radioactivity, the flask would break and kill the cat. The Copenhagen explanation of quantum mechanics implies that in time, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead.

However, by looking inside the box, the cat would be either alive or dead, not both alive and dead.

Schrödinger's cat has become known outside of scientific circles, due to its use in a variety of TV shows, movies and other literature. In recent years, it has been mentioned in the likes of The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, Bones, Futurama, Repo Men and The Prestige.